The review petition was filed by one of the petitioners before the top court, Udit Sood.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court found itself at the center of a legal challenge when it received a review petition contesting its October 17 decision, which denied same-sex couples the right to marry or form civil unions.
Udit Sood, one of the petitioners, took the initiative to file the review petition with the highest court in the land.
The October 17 ruling, which opposed the recognition of same-sex marriages, was delivered by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha. According to the Court, the current legal framework does not acknowledge the right to marry or the right of same-sex couples to enter into civil unions. The responsibility to create laws enabling these rights is deemed to rest with the Parliament.
The Court further clarified that the law does not endorse adoption rights for same-sex couples. Justices Bhat, Kohli, and Narasimha jointly delivered the majority opinion, while Justice Narasimha also provided a separate concurring opinion. Chief Justice Chandrachud and Justice Kaul, on the other hand, presented individual dissenting opinions.
All the judges concurred that there is no absolute entitlement to marriage, and same-sex couples cannot assert it as a fundamental right. In addition, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the challenge to the provisions of the Special Marriage Act. The majority, represented by Justices Bhat, Kohli, and Narasimha, also established that the law does not recognize civil unions among same-sex couples and prohibits them from adopting children.
However, in their respective minority opinions, Chief Justice of India Chandrachud and Justice Kaul contended that same-sex couples possess the right to have their relationships recognized as civil unions, along with eligibility for associated benefits. They also argued that such couples have the right to adopt children, overturning adoption regulations that prevented such adoptions to occur.
